The rift in the Labour Party (LP) deepened yesterday, when a factional member, Callistus Okafor, announced his withdrawal from the party and joined a movement.

Also, the party’s House of Representatives member, Sunday Umehia, defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). At a briefing in Abuja, Okafor declared the formation of a new movement, WaZoBia Nigeria, positioning it as a non-partisan alternative to the increasingly fractured LP.

Citing the crisis in LP, the factional member said he was pulling out with his five million-member structure across the country. He accused the 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi, of aiding the crisis pretending not to be aware of imminent dangers.

Claiming that Obi, upon joining the party in 2022, undermined his leadership and supported Julius Abure.

“My own faction met and said, this is the time. I announce to Nigerians today that the five million Nigerians, who are under my control, hereby, pull out from LP to team WaZoBia Nigeria,” Okafor stated.

UMEHIA, who represents Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency of Enugu State, announced his defection in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, which was read on the floor of the green chamber at plenary.

In the letter, the lawmaker said division and crisis within the party was responsible for his decision to join the ruling APC. Since the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13, 2023, about 31 members have changed their political platforms.